


Highball

by patchwork_panda



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, daisuga - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-24
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 14:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2352473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchwork_panda/pseuds/patchwork_panda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haikyuu!! DaiSuga AU</p><p>This fic is a variant of a coffeeshop AU. Daichi Sawamura is a businessman and has to take frequent trips in and out of the country. His life is a constant in and out of airports and traveling. One day, while waiting for a delayed flight, he walks by an airport bar in Tokyo and sees a volleyball game on TV. This catches his attention, since baseball is more popular in Japan. So he sits down to get a beer and is served by none other than bartender Sugawara Koushi. Over time they grow close as Daichi keeps stopping by to talk volleyball with Suga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> for those who don't know or don't drink, a "highball" glass is a kind of tall glass you serve drinks in.

Sawamura Daichi yawned loudly as he shuffled into the terminal, briefcase in hand. He slowly trudged to a stop behind the other passengers as the line began to naturally sort itself single-file to descend down the escalator towards the luggage carousel room. He leaned towards the left, like everyone else who wasn’t in a hurry, and blearily rubbed his eyes as a group of career men and women dashed past him on the right. As he watched their blazer-clad backs disappear downstairs, he couldn’t help breathing a small sigh of relief. As a fellow businessman, he understood what it was like to have to rush from flight to flight, trying to make important meetings in cities too far away to reach by train. He was lucky today wasn’t one of those days.

He followed his fellows off of the escalator and walked at a leisurely pace to the carousel on the far right, waiting for the metal behemoth in the center to belch out his belongings. A red suitcase appeared, then a blue one. A pink duffel bag covered in flowers toppled down the metal slide, only to be claimed by a burly man in a gray sweatshirt, who threw it unceremoniously into a cart. Daichi winced as the cart full of baggage clattered away. And people said he had a temper.

Finally, a small beat-up black suitcase slid down towards him. It would be even more innocuous if it weren’t for the little patches of sports tape here and there holding it together. He knew he should be using something more professional-looking by now, but somehow, he just couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. It just held too many good memories for him. At least he’d used black sports tape to match the case. Picking it up, Daichi headed toward the next terminal for his transfer flight, the squeaking of the old suitcase wheels following him down the wide hall.  
His ex-girlfriend had complained about it, but the sound had never bothered him. Just like the black sports tape, it reminded him of his high school days spent on the volleyball court. And today, the erratic squeaking of the wheels held a rhythm similar to that of athletic shoes screeching to a halt against a polished wood gymnasium floor. 

“Nice serve!”

Even the movements of people dropping bags or settling bodies into chairs sounded like the solid thuds of volleyballs against forearms. He could almost smell the Air Salonpas...

“Cover, cover!!”

He stopped walking abruptly. Was he so tired that he was hallucinating? He could swear he heard someone shouting for a ball just now. The sounds of the squeaks intensified even though he and his suitcase were no longer moving.

“What the—”

“RIGHT!!” someone screamed from far away.

Daichi instinctively whipped his head to the right. His mouth dropped open. There, at a small airport bar on his right, hung a large plasma screen TV. And it was showing a volleyball match. He quickly looked down at his watch. Luckily, the plane he’d just gotten off of had arrived early; he had more than an hour to kill. Maybe he could drop by for a beer...

He picked up his belongings and migrated over to the bar, where the shouts coming from the screen intensified as the game picked up. As he drew closer, he saw two tall men, each around his own height, facing the screen with their arms crossed as they mumbled to one another from behind the counter.

“Hmm, if they’re going to concentrate the blockers in the center like that, then they should make more use of the sides of the court.”

“Yeah, but the spiker’s going to be in a tight spot if the setter hesitates for even a second.”

Daichi raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t heard that kind of talk since high school graduation. Whoever these two were, they really knew what they were talking about.

“Excuse me, but which tournament is this?”

As one, they turned to look at him. The taller of the two, a man with sharp eyes and black hair, fixed Daichi with an almost analytical glance. The shorter one, a gentle-looking man with pale hair and a beauty mark beneath his left eye smiled courteously and then prodded his companion’s shoulder.

“Kageyama-kun.”

The taller man blinked, as if suddenly remembering something. And then, to Daichi’s horror, his mouth stretched wide, revealing teeth from corner to corner and his eyes narrowed to a squint. It looked like he was plotting a murder. Daichi’s murder. The businessman swallowed uncomfortably and took a small step back.

“Welcome,” the man called Kageyama said in a low voice.

“Thank you...” Not knowing what else to say, Daichi cleared his throat and pushed on. “Uh, sorry to ask again, but who’s playing who?”

“Oh!” the other man exclaimed, “I’m sorry. I never answered your question. This is the Inter-High Semi-finals in Tokyo. It’s Nekoma vs. Sanchome.”

“High school volleyball, huh?” Daichi repeated, smiling softly as he settled into a seat. “Man, those were the days...”

“Yeah. Did you play volleyball in high school?”

“I did. In fact, I was the captain in my third year.”

“Oh, is that so?” The one with the beauty mark leaned across the counter and grinned. Only at this moment did it occur to Daichi that the black-haired man had been trying to smile earlier. “I was the official setter at my high school for three years.”

“Impressive.”

They were interrupted by a sudden roar from the television. The cameras did a quick playback to reveal a gangly youngster wearing red and black spiking the ball towards the sidelines, only to be foiled by a speedy brunette who threw himself onto the ground just in time to catch the ball with a single forearm, propelling it into the air.

“Nice receive!!” Daichi and the bartenders shouted with one of the players onscreen.

“Anyway, Kageyama-kun? I’ll take care of things here. Why don’t you go greet the guy who just arrived? Don’t forget to relax.”

“Should I smile?”

“Just think of something happy and relax.”

“Got it.”

As Kageyama went to serve the newcomer, the setter-turned-bartender in front of Daichi stood up straight and reached for a glass.

“So what can I get you, Captain?”

“Just a beer is fine.”

“Do you want something Japanese? We have a happy hour discount on Japanese draft beers for the next two hours.”

“But it’s still early afternoon,” Daichi pointed out, checking his watch once more. Good, he still had forty minutes to go before boarding. Hopefully, he could catch the end of his game before he had to depart.

“Well, it’s after five somewhere, right?” the bartender responded with a cheeky grin. “And since we’re in an airport, I can tell you that that location is...”

He pulled out a smartphone and pursed his lips.

“Hawaii!”

“You cheated,” Daichi chuckled as the man across the counter filled up a glass and set it down in front of him on a small coaster.

“Well, what did you expect? I’m just a bartender. I’m not going to have all the timezones of the world memorized you know.”

Just then, another noise came from the TV so they both returned their attention to the large screen. Kageyama and the other patron followed suit. It was a close match but Nekoma managed to gain the upper hand in the end and would be moving on to the next round. Having finished his beer, Daichi paid and got ready to leave. His plane would be arriving soon.

“This was nice. Thank you.”

“No problem,” the bartender responded. “Where are you going?”

“Los Angeles.”

“Ah. Have a safe flight. And when you return to Japan, feel free to stop by here again.”

“Thanks.”

Later that night, as his plane took off for the Western Hemisphere, Daichi fell asleep with a smile. He was already looking forward to next time.


	2. Chapter 2

A week later, Daichi and his sports-tape covered bag were back in Japan. As he stood in line to buy his ticket for the train, he stopped to think for a minute. There was a train coming in the next ten minutes and another in about forty. If he bought the earlier time, he’d be in a rush and there was no guarantee he’d even make it. He supposed he could swap out the ticket later if he needed to but that would be a pretty big hassle. On the other hand, if he got the later time, he’d definitely make it but he would have some time to kill... Once again, his thoughts drifted to the airport bar and the smiling bartender with the beauty mark.

***

“Welcome!” came the chorus as Daichi stepped up to the polished wooden counter.

Once again, he was greeted by the cheerful silver-haired bartender. However, this time there was a much shorter man with spiky brown and blond hair at his side instead of Kageyama. 

“Oh it’s you again!” the person Daichi recognized said. “How was your trip?”

“It was alright, thank you for asking. Did you have a good week?”

The two behind the counter exchanged a glance. Then, the taller one chuckled and crossed his arms.

“Well, it was okay. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” he asked, leaning casually against the wall. Above his head, the TV screen buzzed with a crowd cheering at a baseball game.

Daichi paused, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Good news.”

“Alright. The good news is that you’re just in time for Happy Hour!” the man said cheerfully. Daichi couldn’t help but notice how wonderfully the bartender’s brown eyes crinkled when he smiled. That mole really drew attention to his face.

“And the bad news?”

He watched with amusement as the shorter one all but collapsed onto the counter and groaned loudly.

“Nekoma lost to Shiratorizawa in the final match. They were sooooo clooooooose,” he moaned.

His coworker patted his back reassuringly, his features softening.

“There, there, Noya,” he said soothingly. “There’s always next year.”

Noya immediately jumped up and grabbed onto the other man’s apron.

“No!” he shouted, “Next year, Karasuno’s going to win! For sure!”

And with that, he zoomed off to the stock room.

“Don’t mind him,” the silver-haired man chuckled. “He just really gets invested in the games.”

“I can tell. Why Karasuno though?”

“He was an alumni of Karasuno High School and a former member of their volleyball team. They didn’t make it to Inter-High while he was in school but he’s so positive, he never stopped hoping. But you know, I can understand his feelings. In fact, I think they’ll make it someday too. So!”

He clapped his hands together and grabbed a clean glass, his long fingers hovering expectantly over the taps. His smile was so radiant that for a moment, Daichi was caught off-guard.

“What can I get you today?”

He felt his lips moving but neither he nor the man across from him could understand the words that came out. The bartender leaned a little bit closer to try to catch what he was saying and the businessman, so well-known among his coworkers for his composure, found himself strangely unable to meet this man’s warm brown eyes. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he tried again.

“How about your name?”

He could feel a subtle flush of embarrassment creeping up his neck as bartender fixed him with a look of amusement. He hoped his nervousness didn’t show too readily on his face.

“It’s just,” he continued, covering up with a courteous smile, “I spent all that time talking to you last week and I never caught your name.”

The silver-haired man couldn’t have stared at Daichi for more than a moment, but to the businessman, it felt like an eternity. Finally, those large brown eyes twinkling merrily, the bartender grinned and leaning on the counter, stuck his free hand out for a shake.

“It’s Sugawara,” he laughed. “My name is Sugawara Koushi. But most people just call me ‘Suga.’ And you are?”

“Sawamura Daichi,” he answered, grasping his new friend’s hand and inclining his head in a small bow. “Nice to meet you.”

Suga’s grip was surprisingly strong, but when he thought about it, it made sense considering the man used to play volleyball.

“So anything besides my name that you’d like to have today?”

“Just a regular Hanamachi.”

“You got it.”

As Suga filled the glass, Daichi took a moment to look around the airport bar, which was much quieter today than it was the last time he was here. He hadn’t really gotten a good look around last time because his eyes had been glued to the plasma screen. Not to mention, he had left pretty quickly. Now that he could get a good look at it, he saw that the bar had been built to resemble a well-lit Izakaya-style café, only it resembled one that had been sliced in half to display the contents to the rest of the airport, much like a diorama. A few mid-sized decorative lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a bright light with a vague yellowish tint upon the polished wooden floors. Behind Suga, he saw shelves filled with bottles of varying shapes and sizes, illuminated from below by rows of tiny matching yellow lights. A few other patrons, some of them foreigners, sat upon high wooden stools around the bar, nursing drinks of their own as they checked their phones, their eyes momentarily flicking to Daichi as they sensed his gaze.

“Is it always this quiet?” he asked, accepting his glass and a small snack. He watched as Noya, who had just emerged from the stockroom, went to go help a couple of bar-goers who had motioned for the check.

“Mm, not really,” Suga hummed, casually taking another glass from beneath the counter and gently polishing it. “It gets much busier around dinner time. Usually only two of us are needed to watch the place in the afternoon.”

“Ah, I see.”

The silver-haired man paused to watch Daichi, whose dark eyes were now trained on the screen above their heads, raise his glass. Only Noya, who passed them on the way to the register, saw the playful smirk tugging at Suga’s lips.

“So what is it that you do, Sawamura-san?” Suga asked as Daichi took a big gulp of his drink. “Y’know, besides trying to pick up cute bartenders?”

Daichi immediately choked.

“I’ll admit,” the man across from him teased, his eyes practically sparkling with mischief. “I was kind of surprised. Most people would’ve taken the opportunity to ask for my number, not my name.”

“I wasn’t hitting on you, I swear!” Daichi coughed, painful tears squeezing themselves out the corners of his eyes.

“I know, I know,” Suga snickered, “I’m sorry, Sawamura-san. It was just a joke. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, fine,” the businessman managed to get out, wiping his chin with his napkin. He grinned back. “But this means you’re not getting a tip.”

“No worries. We don’t tip in Japan anyway.”

“Yeah but I don’t think they’d tip for this kind of service in America either.”

“Ouch.”

The afternoon continued pleasantly in this way, with the two talking and joking over the counter. Occasionally, Suga had to go help a customer, leaving Daichi alone with his thoughts, but never for too long, as the store wasn’t too busy. They chatted away about Inter-High and volleyball, Noya sometimes stopping by to bring his two cents into the conversation, and the minutes rapidly flew by. It turned out Noya, whose full name was Nishinoya Yuu, used to play high school and collegiate volleyball as a libero. Apparently he had been somewhat famous before calling it quits for good. Before long, Daichi’s glass was empty and it was time for him to catch his train. He paid his bill and bid the other two good-bye.

“Thank you, come again!” they chorused from behind the counter.

Daichi waved good-naturedly as he left. It felt good to talk volleyball again and he’d genuinely had a good time getting to know Suga and Noya. Since his company frequently sent him on trips abroad, he got the feeling he’d be back at the airport in no time at all. He didn’t usually have this much down time but he hoped this would be the beginning of a trend. Maybe next time he’d order some food too; the yakitori the guy next to him was having looked really good.  
However, one thing remained with him longer than he expected it to: Suga’s teasing voice, the lighthearted accusation of making a pass at him. It had been a joke and Daichi knew that... but why couldn’t he stop thinking about it?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might be a little slow (sorry!!) but it really picks up next time, so please stay tuned--it gets better. :)

Over the next few weeks, Daichi’s work schedule underwent a massive shift. The company was releasing a new product and all employees, from the lowest-tier salespeople to the executives themselves, were working overtime. Deadlines followed swiftly on the heels of older deadlines and it was with a heavy heart that Daichi finally dragged his sleep-deprived corpse home every night. It wasn’t as if he had a light workload before, but compared to how it was now, he would have given anything to go back to his old life. For now, the only thing he could do was pray that it would all be over soon...

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before his prayers were answered. A heavy manila envelope filled to the brim with mixed blessings was dropped on his desk one morning. He carefully flipped through the papers, minutes from the last months’ worth of late-night meetings they’d had, reading each one until a memo marked with a brightly colored post-it note stuck out at him like a highlighter-pink flower. It was from Yachi, the junior manager of the advertising department.

“New York?” he mumbled in surprise. They were sending him back to America again? That would mean... another trip to the airport. Despite his exhaustion, he felt a smile forming on his face. He put down the last page, an itinerary detailing his flights, and got up to go get some coffee.

“Sempai!!”

Daichi looked back just in time to see a short young man with bright orange hair jogging towards him.

“Sempai! They’re finally sending me abroad!” he shouted, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

“Oh! Congratulations, Hinata. Where are they sending you?” the older man asked, ruffling his junior’s hair.

“Taiwan! I’m gonna go to Night Market and try every kind of meat bun they have!” 

Hinata exclaimed. Daichi could barely hold in his laughter. Hinata was practically drooling at just the thought of his precious meat buns.

“Eh? Sempai, you’re leaving Tuesday too?”

Daichi gave a small start, realizing that Hinata had read the note on his desk. He looked down at the pile on his desk and then back up with a shrug.

“Yeah, I am. Your flight’s next Tuesday?”

“Oh! No, it’s this Tuesday. Tomorrow. See?”

Daichi took the paper schedule from his coworker and scanned it. He paused for a moment when his eyes fell upon the departure airport.

“Hinata, you used to play volleyball too, right?” he asked with a grin. “If you’ve got the time to stop by, there’s this bar I think you should check out.”

***

“Welcome!” Suga called as Daichi stepped back into the bar for the first time in weeks. Once again, the unmistakable sounds of a televised volleyball game floated over to him from the TV behind the bartender's head. “Oh, it’s you! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Has it?” Daichi asked, pretending to think for a moment. “I could have sworn it’s only been... what, three weeks?”

“Wow, you’ve been keeping track!” Suga said, his thick eyebrows rising until they disappeared into his bangs. But soon, that familiar teasing grin was back on his face. He leaned forward, elbows on the counter and chin in his hands and crooned, “Aww, I’m flattered. Did you miss me that much?”

“Well, I’m really here for the beer and volleyball. But yes, now that you mention it, I did miss you,” the dark-haired man acknowledged with a broad grin of his own. Without warning, a tall man with black bangs cut in, his facial expression strangely rigid.

“Oh, good evening Kageyama-kun.”

“Good evening, Sawamura-san,” Kageyama said. Daichi frowned. There was something forced about the way Kageyama greeted him; the man had spoken through gritted teeth. He robotically pivoted towards Suga and ground out, “Sempai, do we have any more of that shochu from last week?”

“Yeah, it should be in the blue cardboard box,” the silver-haired bartender said, pointing towards the stockroom. “Did somebody finally order it? Good job, Kageyama-kun!”

“No,” the taller man muttered, his left eye twitching. “It’s for me. Take it out of my paycheck, please.”

“Kageyama, what—”

“I’m taking my break right now Suga-sempai. I apologize but I really can’t deal with that orange guy anymore.”

“Orange?” the other two mumbled together. They exchanged a glance just as someone in the bar let out an overly excited shout and turned towards the source of the noise: a small booth on their right, directly underneath a small TV. Seated on the inside was a very tall, very embarrassed-looking man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. And next to him was...

“Hinata?!” Daichi sputtered.

Daichi’s coworker jerked his head towards them. His mouth, half full of food, dropped open.

“Sempai! What are you doing here?”

“My flight leaves in an hour. What are you doing here?”

“Huh?” Hinata squinted at Daichi confusedly. “My trip was only a week long. I’m waiting for the train and I thought I’d stop by the bar you mention—”

“Ahh!!” Suga, Daichi, and the man next to Hinata suddenly shouted, pointing at the television. “It’s up!”

“What? The ball?” Hinata gasped, immediately returning his attention to the television. The blood drained from his face. “Oh no. It’s that late already?!”

He stood up with a clatter, startling the man next to him and he fumbled for his wallet. Smashing some cash onto the table, “the orange one” darted out of his seat and shouted something that sounded like, “Asahi, I’ll pay you back!” to his friend as he rushed to catch his train.

Daichi and Suga exchanged a relieved glance and glanced toward the stockroom door at the very irritated Kageyama, who was sitting on a crate and boring a hole into the wall with his eyes, his mouth moving as if muttering to himself. That was a close one. If he had found out it was Daichi who’d brought Hinata in, Daichi might never be allowed back in again.

“I take it you guys know each other?” Suga asked, amusement evident on his face.

“Yeah, we’re coworkers.” Daichi went on to explain the current situation at their job, trying to keep his griping to a minimum while Suga nodded sympathetically.

“That sounds rough,” the bartender replied in a hushed voice. He set down a full glass of beer with a heavy clunk in front of the man across from him. Daichi raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t order anything yet...”

He watched as Suga let out a surprised gasp, his large hand flying up to cover his mouth. For just a fraction of a second, his eyes darted away and his cheeks flushed pink.

“Ah, sorry! I did that without thinking. I guess got pretty absorbed in your story,” the bartender chuckled, tousling his already roughened hair self-consciously. He gave Daichi an embarrassed look. “This is another Hanamachi... Is that okay with you?”

If Suga was going to offer it like that, Daichi would’ve gladly drunk a glass full of poison. Just like on that one day, he opened his mouth and no words came out. So he settled for a smile and a nod. Thankfully, Suga had to hurry off to help another guest, allowing Daichi to take a moment to try to relax. He took a large gulp of his beer, hoping his red face would be attributed to the alcohol. However awkward he was feeling, it was probably nothing compared to what was going on in Suga’s head right now; the silver-haired bartender didn’t return until it was nearly time for Daichi to go again. 

“Enjoying your beer?” he finally asked, placing the receipt next to the drink coaster.

“Yeah, thanks. Actually, I’m surprised you remembered my order.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, well...” Suga said slowly, “You’ve always ordered the same thing.”

“But I’ve only been here three times?” Daichi replied, smiling a little. 

But Suga didn’t smile back. Not in the usual sunny way he’d come to expect from the man. In fact, the former setter looked... slightly flustered. But before he could ask what was wrong, Noya had vaulted clean over the counter and dashed over to the friend that Hinata had left behind. It only took that brief instant to put a refreshing smile back on Suga’s face and Daichi was left wondering if he’d imagined that look from earlier.

“In that case, come by more often and order the same beer while you’re at it. Then we can call it your regular,” he said cheerfully.

“You know what, I will,” Daichi responded. There was an awkward silence as they avoided each others' gazes. Daichi found himself wishing for something, anything, to happen just so they could have an excuse to talk about something else. Just then, Kageyama emerged from the back room, still looking slightly disgruntled but not nearly as much as before.

“Feeling better?” Suga asked, looking at his coworker with undisguised amusement. 

“That depends,” the taller man answered, looking around. “Is he gone?”

“Yes, he is,” Suga sighed. “Aw, don’t be like that, Kageyama. I think he’s kind of cute, you know, like a big orange puppy.”

He might have said the wrong thing. Kageyama immediately stiffened and Daichi could see his nostrils flare slightly.

“You know, I think it’s time to catch my train,” Daichi said suddenly, hastily standing and slapping a bill on the counter. “See you, Suga-san, Kageyama-san.”

“Eh? Already? Okay then, see you next time!” Suga called as he waved goodbye.

Daichi had barely crossed the threshold of the door when he heard Kageyama explode.

“NO HE IS NOT CUTE!! Why the hell would you say something like that?!”

“Kageyama, don’t shout. And why is your face so red?”


	4. Chapter 4

Although he thought for sure he was on time, Daichi barely made it to his flight before the gate closed. Only when he checked his phone again did he realize he had forgotten to set an alarm. Exhausted, he sank into his seat and immediately fell into a deep sleep. 

The rest of his week didn’t go much better. He spent only a few days in New York before he was flown out to Houston, then back to Los Angeles again. He arrived back in the Tokyo office only to be told he was needed in Hokkaido in two days’ time to cover for a coworker who had gotten sick at the last minute. Grumbling, he took the slip from an apologetic Yachi and mentally prepared himself for the trip. At the beginning of this product launch, Daichi had taken the frequent business trips as a sign that the company considered him valuable, seeing him as an employee trustworthy enough to handle these important tasks. But now, the sleep-deprived Daichi was beginning to rethink his decisions and his life.

He couldn’t deny it any longer: the lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll. The businessman was beginning to doze off during meetings and even the rapid strides he was making with his English couldn’t balance out his sluggish demeanor. The last time he came back to Tokyo, he was so intent on making it to bed that he nearly forgot to stop by to say hi to Sugawara and the Izakaya staff.

But he did stop by.

He stopped by every day that he was in the airport. Even though his job was running him ragged and he was sorely in need of a good day off, one great thing had come of the product launch... Now that he was being sent out on so many international flights, he was able to see Suga more often. Even though he didn’t always have time for a drink or a chat, he would at least come by to say hi, no matter how out of the way the bar was at the time. He would make time. The extra sprint to the terminal was nothing compared to missing an opportunity to see the silver-haired bartender again. It was true that Suga wasn’t always in, but if Kageyama or Nishinoya was around, Daichi knew they could be counted on to pass on a message for him.

“Why don’t you just exchange phone numbers or emails?” Noya asked him one day as Daichi prepared to leave yet again. Daichi thought for a moment before choosing his words carefully.

“I’m sure he’s busy and doesn’t need his customers bothering him on his off-hours... Besides, I’m fine with this.”

“Well, maybe you are, but is Suga?” the shorter man asked, fixing him with a cryptic look.

***  
As his plane took off for northern Japan, Daichi leaned his head against the window and stared out into the darkness. What did Noya mean? Sure they were beginning to grow close, but wouldn’t exchanging numbers be too much right now? They weren’t even on a first-name basis yet...

Still thinking about the attractive bartender and mulling over the possibility of buying him a souvenir from Hokkaido, he slowly fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming that he was once again the captain of a volleyball team, in which Suga and Nishinoya were teammates trying to pull an angrily swearing Kageyama away from Hinata. He woke with a start as the plane finally touched down, oddly surprised to be in a suit instead of his old volleyball uniform.

The days zoomed by and before long, Daichi was back in Tokyo, clutching a large tote bag full of omiage gifts for his coworkers and friends. His first stop, however, was of course the izakaya bar.

“Welcome!” the greeting chorus came and Daichi was very pleased to see that this time, Sugawara was in the shop.

“Sawamura-san! Nice to see you again,” Suga said cheerfully. He backed up a step as the taller man placed the tote bag on the counter and fished around in it. “What’s this?”

“Omiage,” Daichi responded, placing three small packages of Shiroi Koibito cookies in the bartender’s hands. “These are for you, Kageyama-san and Nishinoya-san.”

“Aww. Sawamura-san, you shouldn’t have,” Suga drawled. “What would your girlfriend say?”

“Actually, I don’t have one,” Daichi confessed, looking away from Suga’s inquisitive gaze. “And...”

He chewed on the inside of his lip, hoping the next words out of his mouth wouldn’t sound too forward. Why did he have to blush now?

“We’re friends, right, Suga-san?”

“Of course we are,” Suga answered sincerely.

“In that case... I’d like you to call me Daichi. If--if that’s okay with you.”

He heard a sharp intake of breath and looked up to see an unreadable expression on the bartender’s face. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before Suga looked away, the lower half of his face hidden beneath the boxes he held.

“Sempai!” someone shouted from the door. “You’re here again?”

Daichi glanced at the doorway and waved tiredly as Hinata walked in.

“Yeah. I just got back from Hokkaido. How about you?”

“I’m about to take off for Taiwan again,” Hinata declared proudly. “I just thought I’d stop by to see if there were any volleyball games I could watch while I waited for my flight.”

“I think there’s a program on today about a famous Olympian from your prefecture if you’d like to watch that, Hinata-san,” Suga said brightly.

Daichi tried not to stare. That was certainly a fast recovery. It was just like last time: before Daichi could get a really good look at Suga’s facial expression, it changed and he was once again his usual polite and cheerful self. He placed an order for his usual and tried to resist the urge to observe Suga carefully. Luckily, that didn’t prove difficult; halfway through his beer, Daichi was asleep again.

***  
“Sawamura-san.”

He groaned as someone prodded his shoulder.

“Sa-wa-mu-ra---”

Four more pokes.

“--SAN!!”

Suddenly a large hand came slamming down on the counter next to his face and he bolted upright, frantically digging around in his jacket pocket for his laser pen. He only stopped when he realized he was at the Izakaya and Suga was laughing at him.

“Suga...”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” the bartender gasped, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. His finger dragged across the mole on his cheek. “It’s just, if I didn’t do something, you would have missed your train.”

Blearily, Daichi glanced up at the clock.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Suga-san.”

He squinted at the bartender suspiciously.

“Hey, wait a minute. How did you know when my train would be leaving? Have you been stalking me?” he joked.

“No, you were mumbling in your sleep,” Kageyama explained, completely serious. “You kept saying, ‘It’s the 4:10. I can’t miss it.’ You should go.” 

“You’re right. Thanks, Kageyama-san.”

But as Daichi stood to leave, Suga put down the glass he was polishing and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, Sawamura-san...? Can I talk to you for a second?” Suga asked, motioning him closer. Worry was reflected in his clear brown eyes as his long fingers ghosted over the stubble on Daichi’s jaw. “You’ve lost weight and you’ve always got bags under your eyes these days. Is everything alright?”

“I’ll be fine, Suga,” Daichi sighed, pushing Suga’s hands back down. “It’s just the company, you know? Sometimes this happens. It’ll end sooner or later.”

Bit by bit, his fingers gently curled around Suga’s until he held the bartender’s hand in his.

“You know, I meant what I said earlier. Call me Daichi, okay...?”

He watched as the gears turned in Suga’s head. Those large brown eyes cautiously searched Daichi’s for something and a flicker of the unreadable look came back. Then, as before, it disappeared again and the silver-haired bartender slowly cracked a faint smile.

“Alright then... If you insist, Daichi-san.”

The businessman sighed but he smiled back and let go. At least it was a start.

“Then, I’ll be off,” Daichi said as he stood to go.*

“Have a nice trip!” his friend responded sweetly. *

Behind the counter, Kageyama and Nishinoya exchanged a look. Noya nudged Kageyama and whispered something in his ear but Daichi paid them no mind. He ignored the looks he got as he went to the door. He had eyes only for the man with the beauty mark, whose cheeks glowed like the setting sun as he beamed and waved goodbye to his guest from behind the register. As Daichi walked through the airport, he found himself thinking about what to bring Suga next time. He wasn’t sure why, but he was strangely happy that the bartender had finally agreed to call him by his first name. At last, he stepped through the automatic doors, out of the airport and into a flurry of snow. But he didn’t reach for his scarf.

He felt warm enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *in this exchange, I meant for Daichi to say “Ittekimasu,” which is what you say when you leave the house. Suga's response is “Itterasshai,” which someone, like your wife (*cough*) would say when they send you off. It's not exactly normal to do this at a restaurant, hence the stares and whispers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second to last chapter!! Thanks for all the kudos, you guys! I hope you like this one.

As the weeks zoomed by and the product launch eventually ended, Daichi breathed a small sigh of relief, glad it was over at last. However, the brutal schedule showed no signs of discontinuing. If the product launch itself had been exhausting, the follow-up was unbelievably worse. The poor businessman found himself in and out of the airport more times than he could count and even Hinata, with his seemingly boundless energy, was beginning to show signs of jet lag. In fact, Daichi’s schedule was getting so busy that he was starting to become paranoid, afraid that he’d wake up one day in the wrong airport or hotel in a strange country with no way of getting home again. He’d had a nightmare just the other morning that he’d gone to a meeting in Australia wearing nothing but his boxers and then a kangaroo had shown up as the presenter. It kicked him in the chest before morphing into Suga, who smiled and asked him to come back again as he showed Daichi out. Needless to say, Daichi had woken up very confused.

Yawning as he dragged his bag behind him to go on yet another late night trip, the tall man stepped through the doorway to the Izakaya and was met by a chorus of “Welcome!”

“Ah, Daichi-san, you’re back at the airport again?” Suga asked as his friend sat down opposite him at the bar.

“Yeah. You’d think it would be over by now but it’s not.”

“Hmm, I see. Well at least we can offer you a hot meal before you take off, right?” Suga said, smiling cheerfully. “The usual?”

“Yes, please. No beer today though. I’ll just fall asleep.”

“You got it, Daichi-san,” Suga chuckled as the man’s stomach let out an audible growl.

Luckily, Daichi wasn’t left waiting for too long. Barely ten minutes after Suga had called out the order, Noya had pushed the flustered-looking silver-haired man out the kitchen doors and shouted loud enough for almost the entire café to hear.

“Here you go! A hot meal served by our hottest bartender!”

And with that, he ran back into the kitchen before Suga or anyone else could chide him. The embarrassed bartender was forced to continue on as if nothing had happened, even though Daichi was fairly certain even the patrons in the very back of the restaurant could see the violent blush coloring Suga’s cheeks.

“I-ignore him,” the man sighed as he put down his tray. “He just likes to joke around.”

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Daichi managed to mumble, hoping Suga wouldn’t notice the blush spreading across his own face. 

“Hey, I think there might be another volleyball game playing somewhere,” Suga said, grabbing the remote. “Let me look for it.”

Thankfully, with the game on screen, it didn’t take long for the awkwardness to dissipate. Within minutes, they were back to chatting about sports and reminiscing just like all the other visits. When it was time to go again, Suga saw him off with a smile that to Daichi, looked oddly fragile.

“I know it’s tough on you to fly back and forth like this,” Suga said gently. “And I know you must be tired... It might be a little selfish of me to say this but...”

Daichi could feel his heart thudding rapidly in his chest as Suga took a step forward. He could see himself reflected in those large brown eyes as the beauty mark drew closer and closer. That slender hand with the long fingers lifted into the air near his face and Daichi held his breath. And then, it stopped. Dropped back down of its own accord, landing gingerly on his shoulder.

“I’m happy I got to see you again,” Suga said at last, staring at Daichi’s tie. “Take care of yourself, won’t you?”

Should he do it? Should Daichi wrap his arms around the man before him and hold him tightly enough to stop Suga’s breath just as the bartender had stopped his? He was so close and so warm. For one wild moment, Daichi considered abandoning his trip, dropping everything just so he could stay right here with Suga. He didn’t want to leave like this. There was something unspoken between them and he knew Suga could feel it too. He should say something. 

He watched Suga’s eyes lift expectantly as he opened his mouth to speak but when those beautiful eyes met his again, the courage was completely drained from his body. He coughed slightly.

“Thanks, Suga. I will. I’ll see you next time, okay?”

“Okay,” Suga replied quietly. “Have a safe trip.”

He didn’t need to feel Noya’s eyes boring holes into the back of his head as he departed—he was already feeling terrible enough for dropping the ball like that. But running back right now and trying to figure out something else to say, especially in front of everyone? Smacking a palm against his face as he approached his terminal, he groaned. Next time for sure. Next time...

He looked up at glowing screen just as an announcement rang throughout the airport.

“Attention passengers. Flight 274 from Tokyo to Hokkaido has been delayed due to weather conditions on the ground in Hokkaido. Please allow at least two hours before the next announcement. We apologize for the delay. To repeat...”

Daichi’s suitcase fell over with a loud clatter.

His flight had been delayed.

***  
“Daichi-san?”

A surprised Suga greeted him from the counter as he came back in. The silver-haired bartender’s expression changed from surprised to slightly confused as he saw the look on the businessman’s face.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“I think he forgot something,” Noya called, sticking his head out the kitchen doors for a split second. He shot Daichi a look of barely disguised anticipation. “You know, like getting your num—”

“Noya!” Kageyama exclaimed, grabbing the shorter man’s ear and pulling his spiky head back through the doors with him.

“I’m okay,” Daichi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “It’s just that my flight got delayed. I’ll be here another two hours at least... Mind if I stay here?”

“No, of course not. Could you hold on one second?” the bartender asked. Before Daichi could react, he suddenly turned over his shoulder and screamed, “NOYAAA!!”

“Osu!!” came a small voice from inside the kitchen.

“I’m taking my break now! You and Kageyama are in charge!”

And before Daichi could react, the silver-haired bartender vaulted cleanly over the counter, pulled up a chair next to him and sat there with the biggest grin on his face, his mole drifting a fraction higher up his cheek as his eyes crinkled pleasantly.

“So, can I buy you a drink?”

***  
“You won’t laugh?”

“I promise.”

“Okay then...”

The gray-haired bartender drew himself up with a breath and straightened his back. He turned to the side, lifted his right leg off of the ground so that it was at waist-level and bent his knee ninety degrees. Then he threw a pointed finger right in Daichi’s face and yelled, “Hey, Yamaguchi! Hit a nice serve!!” And as the other café patrons watched, he winked and puckered his lips in the most comical face Daichi had ever seen. As Daichi burst into laughter, Suga continued.

“And you know what the best part was?”

“What?” Daichi choked out.

“I got the other four guys on the bench to do it too!”

Daichi tried to imagine all those tall, muscular high school athletes lined up in a row, striking a pose more commonly found in a can-can dance routine while each made a face goofier than the last. He clutched his stomach, bent double with tears in his eyes.

“I’m sure Yamaguchi loosened right up after seeing that.”

“He sure did,” Suga chuckled. “Unfortunately, his serve still hit the net and it was their point.”

“Ah...”

“It was a good try though!”

They once again returned their attention to the television, where the program had changed from sports to the news. As the last hour ticked by, Daichi sat there quietly, sipping his tea and occasionally checking his phone for the time. When the announcement finally came that they were boarding his flight, Daichi stood to leave.

“Thanks again, Suga. You’re the best. So how much do I owe you?”

“Oh, uh,” Suga mumbled, his eyes flicking away for a split second before he took the cup from Daichi. “It’s on the house.”

Daichi must have looked surprised because Suga grinned and said, “You do come here pretty frequently. Don’t worry about it and have a safe trip!”

The taller man paused. The delay from earlier had to be a sign, right? Was now the time?

“...Hey, Daichi-san?” 

Torn from his musings, he looked at Suga to see his friend hesitating.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” the bartender mumbled, looking suddenly nervous as he rubbed his heck with the back of his hand.

Daichi had seen that look on peoples’ faces enough to know that it was far from “nothing.”

“No, it’s okay,” he said quietly, slowly sitting back down at the counter. “What is it?”

“Um, well...”

He watched Suga fidget slightly under his gaze, his pale cheeks rapidly becoming tinged with pink. He looked like he was thinking very carefully about something. Without warning, he laughed and leaned forward.

“I’m curious. What do you think of the food at the Izakaya, Daichi-san? Be honest, please.”

“Food?” Confused, the black-haired man thought a moment. “It’s pretty good. Why do you ask?”

“Well, we were thinking about adding something to the menu next month and I wanted to get your opinion. So what’s your favorite food?”

“Shoyu ramen. Oh, but you guys already serve that here... What do you like best, Suga?”

“Super spicy ma-po tofu!” Suga answered immediately, his eyes shining a little at the thought of it.

Daichi sucked in a breath. That look on Suga’s face just now was very cute... He’d made up his mind: next time was now.

“You know, Suga... If you like ma-po tofu, there’s this really good Chinese place in Shibuya that I’ve been to before,” he said carefully. “Do you think you’d... maybe want to go with me? Y-you know, when I come back from my trip?”

A hush fell over the restaurant. Time seemed to stand still as Daichi waited, sweat pouring down his forehead. Waiting for Suga to speak was ten times worse than waiting for a killer serve to come his way on the volleyball court. At least a speeding ball was something he knew how to deal with...

“Daichi-san...” Suga said at last. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Yes.”

“I’d love to.”

He looked up to see that Suga was smiling, really smiling in a way that made him wonder if he had ever seen anyone look that happy before.

“Really?!”

“Yes, really!” Suga laughed, as Daichi took his hand and stuffed a dog-eared business card into the bartender’s hand. “Yes!”

“Here’s my number. I’m coming back next Tuesday at five. I’ll pick you up from here and we’ll take a cab to the restaurant okay? You’re going to love it.”

“Okay, okay! Daichi, you should go, you’re going to miss your flight!”

“I’ll see you Tuesday!!” Daichi called as he left the restaurant at a run, his face bright red. He turned just in time to see Noya and Kageyama burst out of the kitchen, Noya jumping on Suga and whooping obnoxiously, his fist pumped into the air.

***  
Outside, the wind howled and the plane shook slightly as Daichi took off for Hokkaido. He never managed to wipe that silly grin off his face as he settled in and tried to take a nap. As he closed his eyes, the image of Suga’s smiling face appeared before him and he found himself grinning yet again.

Well shit. Now he was too excited to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit long and it was hard to get enough time together to write the ending, but here it is! I hope you all like reading it as much as I liked writing it! Thank you all for bearing with me for so long! Grazie!

Daichi sighed, trying to keep the leg tapping to a minimum and pulled out his phone from under the table once again. Unlike the previous trips to Hokkaido, this one seemed to truly drag by. As much as he wanted to attribute it to pure, unadulterated boredom, he was forced to admit that things were different now that he really had something to look forward to once he came back to Tokyo. Well, not that he wasn’t looking forward to seeing Suga before but the promise of a date was just...

“What do you think, Sawamura-san?”

He snapped to attention, immediately sitting up perfectly straight; he hoped the guilty look on his face wasn’t too obvious.

“Oh, I completely agree,” Daichi answered, putting a pleasant smile on his face as fast as humanly possible.

The man at the front of the room raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“Really, Sawamura-san? You think it would be a good idea for us to replace you with a talking crow?” he said with a slight sneer. “Alright then, if you insist. At least the crow won’t play around with his cell phone during meetings...”

Daichi flushed.

“I’m sorry, Ukai-san. It won’t happen again.”

Ukai scratched his head and glanced at the clock before giving Daichi a sympathetic look.

“Make sure it doesn’t,” he replied. “But if I remember correctly, you have a flight to catch this evening, right?”

Daichi nodded.

“I think we covered all the necessary points so I’m going to call an end to today’s meeting. There’s supposed to be a storm coming in some time tonight and I know I want to make it back to my hotel before they shut down the roads. What do the rest of you say?”

A smattering of murmurs around the room echoed the sentiment and within seconds, suitcases were packed up and people were scrambling to leave the room. Daichi could hardly believe his luck. He hastily scooped everything into his case and slammed it shut, pulling out his phone so he could text Suga to tell him he was on his way back, waving goodbye to Ukai even as the man shouted, “Sawamura-san, don’t forget to read the memo!”

Before long, he was at the small local airport, waiting for his boarding call and Suga had texted back. It was just a short confirmation followed by a smiley face but it left Daichi feeling like he was walking on air. He could barely contain his excitement as he sent out a message of his own.

“See you in an hour.”

He had barely pressed send when a sudden announcement came, blaring over the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please,” a soft, calm voice said over the intercom. “Due to an incoming snowstorm, all departing flights will be grounded until further notice. Please wait for further announcements regarding flight scheduling. Thank you.”

The cell phone fell to the ground with a sharp clatter. The blood rapidly draining from his face, Daichi grabbed at the small device, swearing loudly when he held it up and realized the screen had shattered. Thankfully it had turned itself back on. He quickly went through his contacts, hoping to call Suga to tell him the bad news, but when he pressed “call,” nothing happened. Confused, Daichi squinted at the fractured screen. Where did the signal go? He pressed call again.

Nothing.

Gritting his teeth, he switched apps and tried to send out an email. He hurriedly pushed the buttons, crafting a short message to Suga and pressed “send,” waiting impatiently, his foot starting up a familiar rhythm tapping against the floor again. A buzzer sounded and the email was returned. Damn. Maybe it was his phone and not the signal? He looked around, hoping to find a charging station for his drained computer but they were all taken.

“Excuse me,” he said, approaching the counter at his boarding station. “Do you know if there are any computers with internet access in this airport?”

The woman opposite him gave him an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, sir. We do, but because of the weather...”

She gestured to the windows behind them, where gale-force winds slammed flurries of snow against the glass. As Daichi watched, the light outside grew dimmer and dimmer as the approaching winter storm blew in, full force. Slowly, the businessman looked around and realized that the looks of frustration on the other passengers’ faces could only mean one thing: the storm had taken out the nearest cellphone tower. He was not the only one who had just lost contact with the outside world.

“I see... Thank you.”

Slowly, he trudged back to his seat, the sense of elation he’d felt earlier suddenly replaced by cold, hollow shock. The phone lines were out and there was no access to internet; he couldn’t even send an email to Suga to let him know he would be coming back late or to reschedule. Worse still, he didn’t have any idea how long he would be here.

He slumped into the nearest chair, his eyes glazed over as he numbly watched the other passengers milling about the airport. The minutes slowly ticked by. He looked out the window yet again and when he thought that the storm was beginning to settle, pulled his phone back out, turning it off and then on again, dialing Suga’s number again and again before realizing there really was no use. The towers were out and they wouldn’t be on again for a while.

There was nothing he could do but wait... 

***  
It was nearly nine when they finally began boarding his flight and just past ten when he arrived in Tokyo. Daichi thought he had pretty much given up hope when the clock passed seven but as soon as he stepped through the doors into the familiar Tokyo airport terminal, he was overwhelmed with the urge to see Suga. Maybe, just maybe he was still in? Daichi picked up his pace, shifting towards the right where he could pass people without bumping into anyone. The least he could do was apologize in person and offer to take him out again some other time. The individual squeaks of the wheels dragging behind him began to blur together into one long excited whine. It wasn’t too late to get drinks in Ebisu right now was it?

“Suga!” he called, bursting through the Izakaya’s doorway.

But the smiling, silver-haired bartender was not there. Instead, Noya offered him a weak grin and a half-hearted call of “welcome!” as the hanging cloth flaps behind Daichi dropped back down. For the second time that day, Daichi felt all of the energy drain out of his body. He sighed heavily and went to the counter, dropping his head on it with a loud, defeated thunk.

“Woah, there Daichi-san,” Noya said, patting the businessman’s back. “Usually people don’t do that until after they’ve had a few, not before.”

“Suga took off already, didn’t he?” Daichi mumbled into the cold hard counter.

Noya grimaced.

“Yes he did, but can you blame him? You’re more than four hours late...”

Upon hearing this, Daichi threw his arms over his head and groaned loudly.

“I know, I know. He probably thinks I’m an asshole now.”

“Suga’s not the type to be judgemental... Why would you say that?” Noya inquired, scooting closer with a curious look on his face.

“Because it looks like I stood him up!” Daichi all but shouted, curling into himself with his forehead still stuck to the counter.

“...yeah, I’ll give you that,” the shorter man replied after a stretch of silence. Hearing the change in tone, Daichi turned his head so that he could look Noya in the eye.

“Why are you making that face?” the businessman asked, straightening up.

“What face?” Noya asked, looking almost as guilty as Daichi felt. He quailed a little underneath Daichi’s patented stern gaze.

“Noya, are you hiding something from me?”

“N-No! Of course not!” Noya exclaimed, getting to his feet and backing away slowly as Daichi’s expression grew darker. “It’s-not-like-Suga-got-stood-up-before-so-I-told-him-to-stop-waiting-around-and-just-go-home already!!” he finished in a rush.

Daichi felt like he had just been punched.

“Wait, what?”

Shifting his weight from one leg to the other, Noya rubbed his arm and continued, “Well, it happened once before. There was this guy who came by all the time, just like you did, who asked Suga out on a date. Turns out it had been to settle a bet and we never really saw him again after that. You might’ve noticed but it’s kind of why he was kind of tip-toeing around you even though it was pretty obvious he was into you. And I couldn’t stand to see him hurt like that again, so I sent him home and said Kageyama and I would take over for tonight.”

Daichi thought he was going to be sick.

“Noya, I swear...” Daichi pleaded, holding his hands out to the short waiter. “I tried to call him to tell him about the delay but the storm wiped out the cell phone towers. I tried everything: text, email—Wifi was gone too and nothing I wrote got sent out. Shit, what’s the use of telling you all this? Suga left and now I’ll never be able to show my face around here again.”

Noya watched carefully as Daichi dropped back down onto the counter and let out another pained, but muffled, groan that sounded an awful lot like “I think I need a drink.” So he got behind the bar and set down a glass with a very loud clunk right next to the surprised man’s ear.

“You know,” Noya said slowly, “Something similar happened to me and Asahi a while back.”

“Asahi?”

“Azumane Asahi, the guy Hinata-san was with last time.”

“Oh.”

“We were close,” Noya explained, his cheeks slightly pink, “and we tried to meet up a few times but things kept happening in a way that we always just missed each other. I nearly gave up. But when I saw him with Hinata-san that day, I knew I had to give it another shot. We’ve been seeing a lot more of each other ever since.”

“That’s a nice story,” Daichi said suspiciously, “but why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’d like to tell you that sometimes persistence pays off,” Noya answered, fishing his own cell phone out of his apron with a cheeky grin. He punched in a few buttons.

“Hey, Suga? Where are you right now?” he said and watched smugly as Daichi’s jaw dropped. “The train station? Okay, I’ve got something important to tell you. Yeah, I’m still at the bar and it looks like there’s someone here to see you—”

“Suga!!” Daichi cried, stretching over the counter and snatching the phone out of Noya’s hand. “Which train station are you at?”

“Wha--? Daichi-san?” There was a short pause on the line and then Suga quietly answered, “Uh, the one downstairs. Why—”

“Don’t move, I’ll be right there!” Daichi practically shouted into the speaker.

He thrust the phone back at Noya, who tried not to laugh at how hard Daichi was working to try to look pissed instead of happy.

“You son of a bitch,” he managed to choke out. “I thought you said he left?”

“I said I told him to leave early! I never said he listened to me,” Noya cried, as Daichi advanced on him. “Please don’t hurt me!”

He let out a tiny shriek as Daichi stood and enveloped the smaller man in a crushing bear-hug.

“Why would I hurt you when you’ve been looking out for Suga this whole time?” Daichi asked, completely serious. “Thank you, Noya. Suga’s lucky to have such a good friend.”

He dashed for the door.

“Later, Noya!” he shouted over his shoulder.

“You owe me one!” Noya yelled back through the cloth flaps over the door.

***  
Daichi sprinted past the other bewildered airport travelers, ducking and weaving around chattering families, confused tourists and jet-lagged flight attendants in a mad dash that reminded him more of shuttle runs than anything else. He nearly collided with a tired old man, his shoes squeaking to a stop as he missed the old codger by a few mere millimeters and took off again. As he shouted an apology over his shoulder, the man squawked out an angry response that Daichi barely heard over the sound of his own blood pumping hotly in his ears. With the adrenaline rushing through his veins like this, he felt like he was in high school again, training for a full season of volleyball tournaments. However, the goal today was not victory but a promise.  
Suga was still at the train station and Daichi was determined to catch him before he left.

“Suga?!” he shouted as a train barreled out of the station. “Suga!!”

He looked around. A few travelers gave him odd looks but for the most part, the small number of people who were there ignored him. It was pretty late, so while he had expected the place to be deserted, he didn’t think it would be this empty. He walked around, his heart sinking lower and lower with each unfamiliar person that he passed. All around him was nothing but blank walls and blanker stares. He gritted his teeth. He didn’t know where Suga was headed or when the trains would stop running from the airport. That last train that had left the station... could that have been Suga’s?

He stopped walking and took one final look around the station. At least he tried, right? He placed his hand on the railing and began to drag his feet back upstairs.

“Daichi-san?”

Daichi froze, his hand still on the railing, and slowly turned around. There he was, standing at the platform in a long black jacket, his silver hair mussed from the wind created by the departing train. He loosened a light blue muffler from around his face, his eyes wide with surprise.

“Suga...”

He walked down the stairs as Suga strode forward to meet him. Seeing him there, looking so tired and disheveled and yet so utterly perfect, Daichi was suddenly at a loss for words.

“Suga, I... I’m so sorry,” Daichi mumbled, hanging his head. “I’m such an idiot. I—”

“It’s okay.”

He looked up, right into Suga’s light brown eyes, which crinkled as the man before him smiled.

“I tried to call you,” Daichi stammered weakly, “But...”

“Daichi-san,” Suga said sternly, firmly planting both hands on either side of Daichi’s cheeks and squeezing. “I said it was okay, didn’t I?”

Daichi sighed and leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching.

“You did...”

He reached up to stroke Suga’s cheek, his thumb brushing over that adorable little mole under the bartender’s left eye.

“Thanks for waiting.”

“Of course,” Suga replied, his smile widening.

And that’s when Daichi leaned in, pressing his lips to Suga’s in the softest, sweetest kiss. He could feel Suga’s cheeks rapidly heating up under his touch as a train zoomed into the station behind them, the sound of it moving through the tunnel sounding strangely muted even after they broke apart.

“Daichi...” Suga breathed.

He brought his fingers to his lips, his cheeks bright pink. Cheeks burning, Daichi could only stare at his feet until Suga wrapped his arms around the taller man’s neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek, laughing nervously. Behind them, the last train of the night departed the station in a roar of wind and sound, scattering their hair and muffling their voices as they laughed together.

“So, where do we go from here?” Suga asked at last, his voice echoing around the now completely deserted station.

“I dunno. The train just left... and it’s too late for dinner, isn’t it?” Daichi mused. He frowned. “Is anything even open right now?”

“Well, we could always head back to the café,” Suga suggested. “It looks like you left your stuff there...”

Daichi flushed with the abrupt realization that he’d left his wallet in his bag... which was with his duffel bag, with Noya, at the café. 

“Good idea,” he mumbled, starting back up the stairs. As they walked, he took Suga’s hand in his and turned to him with a sheepish grin.

“And I think this time... it’s my turn to buy you a drink.”


End file.
